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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

To Stain or Not to Stain....

That is the question...

Zar has a broken leg again.....So I had to do the furniture building.  Stupid pipe cleaner bones don't last forever.

I resorted to Exacto knife and metal ruler for accuracy's sake.  I always get a better fit that way.  My saw and I are only friends when I am not trying for a tight fit. It just isn't as accurate.
After I cut all of the pieces out, I got out my emery boards and sanded everything. 

I learned a trick from a friend years ago.  The pieces for the drawer in the drawing are the same as the opening for the drawer.  I cut them that size and then did some extra sanding on them all so that they would fit.  That's easier than trying to cut them exactly 1/32" smaller on all sides.

After I put all of the pieces together and tried the drawer, I decided that it needed some trim.  I used 1/16" double beading along all of the front edges.  I also decided that I wanted a lip all around the top, so I cut another board that was about 1/8" larger than the top on the sides and front.  I still wanted the back flush to the wall. 

I put double beading under the lip around the top too.  Now the whole thing looks more unified.  Zar has to decide whether he wants it stained or painted now.

I put it in the workshop to see how it looked.  Strangely, Zar was well enough to hobble over and take a look.

Seriously though, I am going to have to stop work on the cupboard to do an emergency operation on Zar....I imagine, after being around Tessie as long as he has, he will want all new clothes too.

How unreasonable of him.  I think that it is only going on a year since he last got new bones/clothes.  He does way better than Tessie.  Of course, he doesn't do half as much flying around on dragons and zapping from one place to another.  That could be the difference.

Anyway, I am off to play doctor now.

See you tomorrow.

9 comments:

Phyllisa said...

Hi Casey. You made me smile. How
ungrateful of Zar to want new clothes
so soon! LOL! Funny!
The cabinet looks good. You made it
look easy to make. I could make one
with an Xacto knife and a metal ruler.Now I just need some wood. Sometimes I resort to matboard if it's going to be painted. I'm sure a cabinet like that could be used many places.
Phyllisa

Kathi said...

Love the little additions you've done to this one. :D

Marisa said...

didn't he graduate from short pants to long pants and boots? He should be glad you didn't dress him up like a hippy with a flowered shirt and bell bottoms

anyway I love the shelf I say stain it!

Love
Marisa :)

Troy said...

What a great piece of furniture. Did I miss what kind of wood you used? My vote would be to stain it. Good luck with the new leg!

Sarah K. said...

I like Marisa's thoughts of dressing Zar as a hippy with bell bottoms! That will teach him. :)

The shelf is great although I vote to stain it.

mcddiss said...

ese armario ha quedado muy bien montado , espero que la operacion de Zar no se complique

besitos

Mari

jennywren said...

I stopped using pipe cleaners for 'bones' recently and started using picture wire - the one that has several fine brass wires twisted together (although in a 'belt and braces' way I still put one length of pipe cleaner too). I experimented bending it this way and that for ages and it seems pretty strong.
How do you get the old wire out of the limb though? I find that the hardest part and usually have to make a new one.
Can't leave a message without taking the opportunity to say I love this blog. I'm amazed at the number of different crafts you not just tackle but are skilled at and love following the adventures of Tessie and Zar.

Giac said...

Hi Casey,
You did a great job ont he furniture. It looks beuaitufl and accurately done. I hope the surgery goes well.
Big hug,
Giac

Marilyn D. said...

The cabinet looks great and your instructions make it look so easy I think I am definitely going to try it. My first instinct was to say - "stain it" but then, you mentioned how dark those rooms are. Perhaps paining it in a light colour, distressed of course, would work better so it wouldn't add to the darkness? Or maybe a little darkness at the front would balance that at the back. *sigh* Can you tell I have a difficult time making a decision? - Marilyn